Finance

In late 2017, we published a blog entry summarising some of the findings of the report Challenges for our home ownership safety net: UK and international perspectives, published by UK Finance and authored by LSE London’s Christine Whitehead and her colleagues, Peter Williams and Steve Wilcox. In this blog post, we report on the findings of the article Reducing the risks of mortgage default and possession in the UK; an international perspective,… Read More

In March 2018, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government published the report The Incidence, Value and Delivery of Planning Obligations and Community Infrastructure Levy in England in 2016-17. LSE London’s Christine Whitehead was one of the authors alongside Alex Lord, Richard Dunning, Bertie Docerill, Gemma Burgess, Adrian Carro, Tony Crook and Craig Watkins. The cohort of authors was made up of academics from various UK universities. The report is the… Read More

On 11 January 2018, LSE London launched the final report of the third of three Knowledge Exchange and Impact projects aimed at fostering debate between academics, practitioners, and government. The report, entitled A sustainable increase in London’s housing supply? was authored by Kath Scanlon, Christine Whitehead, and Fanny Blanc; click here to access the full report. The series that spawned this project started in September 2014 when the scale of the housing… Read More

The Lent Term Seminar Series programme is here! The Regional and Urban Planning Studies Programme and LSE London are glad to present their new seminar programme starting from January 2018. This event is open to all. We are looking forward to seeing you! Join us for a series of other seminars on urban related themes such as planning, housing or economic development. About the event Time: 5-6.30pm MONDAYS Room: Alumni Theatre (Room… Read More

How has the safety net for mortgage borrowers in the UK evolved over recent decades? And how does this compare with the way this has been experienced in other countries? These are some of the major questions taken up by a new report entitled, Challenges for our Home Ownership Safety Net: UK and International Perspectives. The report was authored by LSE London’s Professor Christine Whitehead and her colleagues, Peter Williams, and Steve… Read More

Response to Mayor’s draft housing strategy from LSE London December 2017 This response draws on discussion at an academic and policy round table held at LSE on 13 November 2017, with attendees from LSE and from other academic institutions and research centres with a London focus. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the opinions of all participants. The general approach The draft contains many sensible and commendable policies. However inevitably it… Read More

LSE London attended a Policy Forum for London keynote seminar: Next steps for housing in London and the South East: affordability, meeting demand and the future for social housing, organised by Westminster Forum Projects on the 13 September 2017. Here are some of the arguments that were presented. James Murray (Greater London Authority) presented the Mayor’s draft housing strategy. He explained that London needs to play a bigger role in public sector… Read More

On 14 November 2017, LSE London launched a report entitled, A taxing question: is Stamp Duty Land Tax suffocating the English housing market? The document was commissioned by Family Building Society and authored by Kath Scanlon, Christine Whitehead, and Fanny Blanc. The report looked at how Stamp Duty Land Tax (SLDT) has changed over the years and its impact on household behaviour, on the housing market, and the overall national economy. While… Read More

On Monday 22 May LSE London convened a round table of London policy experts, housing practitioners and LSE academics for a Chatham House discussion of how the major political parties dealt with housing in their manifestos (see summary table below or click here for downloadable PDF version) for voters to consider on the 8 June 2017 General Election. What was good, what was bad, what was missing—and what were the implications for London?… Read More

On 11 May 2017, Christine Whitehead presented at the Social Housing Finance Conference in London. In this pithy presentation, titled Making Sense of the Economic Environment (download PPT presentation here) she lays out some broad short term and long term fundamentals pertinent to the UK and the potential output growth figures. After providing this broader context, she describes the housing market situation and outlines the role of housing associations in expanding supply…. Read More